Brassiere



G. B. OSBORN Dec. 26, 1961 BRASSIERE Filed April 24,. 1959 n 2 2 Wm E w Patented Dec. 26, 1961 3,014,484 BRASSIERE Gladys B. Osborn, Rte. 1, Box 209, Seagraves, Tex., as-

signor, by direct and mesne assignments, of thirteen and one-third percent to Wendell Coffee and of twenty percent to Shlesingcr and Shlesinger Filed Apr. 24, 1959, Ser. No. 308,665 Ciaim's. (Cl. 128---479) This invention pertains to brassieres and more particularly to brassieres for artifiicial breasts.

The brassiere of this invention is particularly adapted for women who have had a breast removed by surgery. Often after the removal of the breast, this area of the body .is treated by X-ray. As the skin in this area is. particularly tender and sensitive after such proceedings, ordinary brassieres chafe the skin causing a great deal of discomfOlt.

An object of this invention is to provide a brassiere especially designed for holding an artificial breast.

Another object of this invention is to provide such a brassiere which is comfortable to wear.

Another object of this invention is' to provide such a brassiere which will hold an artificial breast properly in place.

Another object of this invention is to provide a brassiere which may be worn soon after a mastectomy.

Further objects are to achieve the above with a device that is sturdy, compact, durable, simple, and reliable, yet inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

The specific nature of the invention as well as other objects, uses, and advantages thereof will clearly appear from the following description and from the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a view of a brassiere according to this invention shown as would be worn.

FIG. 2 is a view of the brassiere with one side dropped,

therefore showing the artificial breast it is designed to contain.

FIG. 3 is a View of the outside of the brassiere.

FIG. 4 is a view of the inside of the brassiere.

FIG. 5 is a detail showing of a seam.

As may be seen in the accompanying drawings, one embodiment of this invention is particularly adapted to contain an artificial breast 10 which is elongated. Such an artificial breast is disclosed in Bernhardts U.S. Patent No. 2,542,619. The elongated portion which extends under the arm is to fill a cavity which is customarily formed in this type of surgery.

Cup 12 for the artificial member is shaped according to the shape of the artificial member and not according to the shape of the natural breast. This can better be seen by comparing it to cup 14 which is designed for a natural breast.

Instead of being round or conic, the cup for the artificial breast is elongated, extending from the center of the front of the brassiere on to the under arm portion. This serves two purposes. First, an ordinary cup with the artificial member will cause a binding or excessive pressure at the point where the outside edge of the natural breast was. This is eliminated by the elongated cup with no reinforcing stitching in this area. Also the elongation of the cup better contains and holds the artificial member in place. The cups for the natural breast do not need reinforcing stitching to prevent the breast from riding up, because natural breasts do not tend to move in this direction. However, artificial breasts are free to move upward and therefore it is necessary to have reinforcing stitching 16 above the artificial member as well as below it. Reinforcing stitching extends along the entire periphery of the elongated cup.

The fabric of the brassiere is cotton broadcloth. I have found this material is the most comfortable to the tender skin resulting from the surgery and X-ray treatments.

The brassiere is made with an inner and outer layer of fabric which is folded along the lower edge 20. All the several edges are folded so as to be disposed between the inner and outer fabric layers of the cup or so as to be disposed outwardly of the outer fabric layer of the cup. This leaves no seams exposed to the skin of the wearer which is quite important for comfort, nor does it leave the seams exposed to the outside of the brassiere which is important for appearance.

Center piece 18 of the brassiere is folded along the length of the fabric (not on the bias) along the edge 20. The cups 14 and 12 are attached to the center piece, both front and rear. As the cup 14 is for the natural breast, its construction is of conventional design and not discussed further here. The cup 12 is constructed with the lower half joining dart 22 lengthwise of the cloth. The dart 22 takes up the material to form the cup, therefore the material of the upper half joins the dart at a slight bias. The dart extends from the apex of the cup lengthwise to under the arm of the wearer when in use. Both the inside layer of material 12' and 14 for the cups and the outside layer 12 and 1-4 of material for the cups are attached to the center piece 1% so that the raw edge of the material is on the interior of the brassiere when finished. Also attached to the center piece and to the edge of the cups are the back pieces 24 and 26, it will be noted that the center piece 18 is not symmetrical, but extends further on the side of the artificial breast. The back piece 24 attached to the edge of the elongated cup for the artificial breast is shorter than the back piece 26 attached to the natural cup.

As seen in the drawings, the brassiere is low in the center, the top of each cup angles upward from the center to a top point above the apex of the cup. From the top point of each cup, the top edge angles downward along the side to the point of juncture with its back piece. The elongated cup 12 angles downward less sharply than the other cup 14 so that the elongated cup is wider than the other along under arm portion of the brassiere. Also backpiece 24 is wider at the juncture with the cup 12 than the backpiece 26 at juncture with cup 14.

Elastic 28 is provided at the back of the brassiere only. The entire front is made of inelastic or unyielding fabric. It is important to avoid the use of elastic in the front of the brassiere or in any of the area where the skin is sensitive, as it irritates the skin. Hooks are provided on the strip of material attached to back piece 26 and two sets of eyes are provided on a strip of material attached to the back elastic 28.

The shoulder straps are made from a wide piece of material which is folded and sewn and turned inside out so the raw edges of the material are on the inside of the strap. The seam of the strap is placed on the outside so that the inside 30 of the strap is smooth, without seams. Wide straps are particularly important because narrow straps cut and bind the tender skin. In this respect, the width of the entire brassiere is wide, the center piece 18 is quite wide and goes quite low so there are no sharp edges present.

Before the brassiere is folded and sewn together, buttons 32 are attached to the outside layer 12 and 14 of the fabric of the cups. This is particularly important on cup 12 so that the thread attaching the button to the top point of the cup above the apex does not extend to the inside leaving a rough spot to irritate. Three button holes are in each strap for adjustment. Buttons are used instead of metal hooks, because it has been found that construction according to this design provides less irritation than the metal hooks, or metal slides. A'lace trim 34 may be provided at the lower end of the straps. Also the top of the brassiere may have a row of lace 36. The lace is first sewn to the interior of the inside cups 12 and 14'. The inside layer 12' and 14' is slightly wider than the outside layer 12 and 14. Then when the inside material is folded over, this leaves an exposed edge or rufiie of lace but still leaves the inside of the brassiere smooth (FIG. Single row of stitching 33 is exposed to the skin of the wearer after it is put together. However, I find that a row of stitching without a seam of cloth is tolerable. Reinforced stitching 16 extends along the periphery of the artificial member 10. This may be sewn into the cloth before the dart 22 is formed. The reinforced stitching 16 is separate from the reinforced stitching 16 on the inside layer of fabric.

The artificial member is in its own textile covering and is worn next to the skin. I have found it more comfortable to wear the artificial member next to the skin instead of within pockets within a brassiere.

The brassiere has been described with one artificial cup and one natural cup. Of course it will be understood that the artificial cup could either be the right or the left cup or both cups could be made for the artificial member 10 if it were necessary.

It will be apparent that the embodiment shown is only exemplary and that various modifications can be made in construction, materials, and arrangements within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. In the art of brassieres for women who have had mastectomy, the improvement comprising: A brassiere having two breast cups and a backpiece connected to each cup, each of said backpieces extending under an arm and to the rear of the wearer for supporting the brassiere, at least one of said breast cups having elongated horizontal dimensions, said one'cup having a dart extending from the apex of said one cup lengthwise to towards under the arm of the wearer in use whereby said one cup is formed for holding an artificial breast member; and a centerpiece connecting both of said cups together at their adjacent edges, said centerpiece extending under and attached to said one cup along its lower edge and extending outwardly to connect with the backpiece for said one cup.

2. A brassiere as in claim 1 and wherein said one cup includes an inner and an outer layer of fabric, the upper edge of said inner-layer being folded outwardly at the upper edge of said one cup and secured to said outer layer.

3. A brassiere as in claim 2 and wherein the upper edge of said inner layer is secured to said outer layer by a single row of stitching extending along the length of the upper edge of said one cup.

4. A brassiere as in claim 1 and including reinforcing stitching extending substantially inwardly of and parallel to the periphery of said one cup, whereby to hold an artificial breast member in position within said one cup.

5. A brassiere as in claim 1 and including a shoulder strap for supporting the upper edge of said one cup, a button sewn to said outer layer of fabric of said one cup at the upper edge thereof and at least one button hole in the end of said shoulder strap for fastening said shoulder strap to said button.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,272,427 Haderlein July 16, 1918 1,699,923 Rothstein Jan. 22, 1929 2,637,851 Peck May 12, 1953 2,657,386 Wolff Nov. 3, 1953 2,698,436 Bernhardt Jan. 4, 1955 FOREIGN PATENTS 604,356 Great Britain July 2, 1948 

